Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Available
for Pre-Order at Barfko-Swill, ROXY BY PROXY!!! At long last, LOVE.
Presenting 75' 49" of musical mayhem and a voluminous booklet
jacked with liner notes (no trivia here) by the redoubtable Ms Ruth
Underwood. Jack your literary quotient
(LQ)! AND marvel at her
mallet-worthiness! Yours to swoon and
revel in, at, or whatever preposition you need for this proposition.

Zappanale not only presents bands that perform the
music of Frank Zappa. It’s also a showcase for artists and bands that play
adventurous music.

Bands like Humble Grumble, Corrie van Binsbergen,
Gargantua and Panzerballet, to name a few, have all played in Bad Doberan.
One of this year’s surprises is called Anton and the Headcleaners, Anton
Brüschweiler’s project. They will be opening the festival on Friday, August 2,
at 15:00 h.
Here’s a short chat with Anton.

UniMuta: Anton, the youtube videos from the Burg
Herzberg festival show that you had a lot of fun. There's a lot of energy on
stage. At Zappanale, you will be opening the festival as you are the first band
to enter the stage at the festival ground. Looking forward to it?

Anton Brüschweiler: Music without fun is only an
exercise. Music has to reach the body and heart of the listener. Although we
play complicated music we always have fun and we like to dance to our own
music. To open the Zappanale on the main stage is a honour. Normaly it is not
the best time for a gig, if you open a festival , but at the Zappanale it might
be okay because there is a warm up day on thursday.

UniMuta: Last year, you released "Rotor",
the band's second album. The first album got released in 1998. What happened
with the band in between these two records?

Anton Brüschweiler: A very good question: As you
mentioned we released our first album "Mess-Age" in 1998. At that
time I already made complicated Instrumental music for 15 years. So I was
frustrated about how hard it was to tour with music for minorities. So I
concentrated my work on funny songs that I wrote in swiss-german. With
"Die Hellen Barden" we produced three CD's and toured a lot around in Switzerland. Then after two
years something happend that I never thought of: A lot of people phoned me (it was the time before Internet) to get a
Mess-Age CD. The CD got cult. After a few years the CD with this complicated
music was sold out and we had to press another thousand. This was really
incredible: Without any promotion the CD got known from mouth to mouth, and we
had a lot of fans. Then in 2009 Harald Haerter a guitar virtuoso and boss of
Unit records asked me to produce a new album with the Headcleaners , 11 years
after the first. I was so happy that I did it. 2012 the album "Rotor"
was released in Germany and received excellent reviews everywhere. That made us
of course extremly happy.

UniMuta: Dedicating an entire festival to the music of
one man, in this case Frank Zappa, might seem weird. But the result is a
festival where bands play Zappa's music and where you get to hear bands that
are inspired by Zappa's music. How do you feel about this concept? Who is your
musical inspiration?

Anton Brüschweiler: To your last question: I have a
lot of musical inspirations but one of the most important influences is a
musician called Frank Zappa. I saw him three times live. Those were among the best concerts I ever saw. Zappa
inspired me as a composer but also as a guitar player. Other influences are:
Strawinski, Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, Gentle Giant and of course Hendrix to
mention only a few.

Two years ago we played in Germany and a guy was
telling me about the Zappanale. I never heard of that before: And I knew: This
is my thing! So I went there as a guest last year and this year we will play
there, which is of course great.

And now I will tell you a big secret. I was such a fan
of the concept of the Zappanale that I decided to do a simular festival in
Switzerland. So next year there will be for the first time a festival
called Zapperlot! at a very nice place
in the nature of Switzerland, in the
Emmental. At a place called
Schangnau. Hope to see yuo all there:

UniMuta: That’s excellent news !! I’m assuming that
Anton and the Headcleaners will be performing there as well?
At Zappanale, you are playing on Friday. Will you be staying the entire
festival. Have you seen the program? Are there bands that you want to see?

Anton Brüschweiler: We stay till sunday, then we have
to leave . I want to see a lot of bands, and I'm looking forward to meet a lot
of interesting people.

The latest Aristocrats album arrived last friday and it's another gem.
The three musicians each contributed three compositions. Different styles, different composers, and yet, immediately recognisable.

Very impressive.

The deluxe edition also includes a bonus DVD, but I haven't gotten round to check it out.

On the subject of Pojama People, Andrew Greenaway added: "Don't forget that you can hear Pojama People - featuring a certain 'Sick
Willie' - on the excellent 20 Extraordinary Renditions CD (copies of which will
be available at Zappanale). Also, new PP bassist Kevin Crosby is set to appear
on the forthcoming Rare Episodes CD, as part of the ZERO Trio"Here's more info on the upcoming Rare Episodes collection:http://www.idiotbastard.com/RareEpisodes.htm

One of the great things about Zappanale, is that you
get to see bands that you wouldn’t be able to see otherwise.
Take Pojama People, for instance. They’ve been playing and promoting the music
of Frank Zappa for years. In a couple of days, Pojama People will be doing
their first ever
European gig.
Reason enough to have a chat with Glenn Leonard, drummer and driving force
behind Pojama People.

UniMuta:
Hi Glenn, it’s great to hear that Pojama People will be playing at Zappanale. How
do you feel about it?

Glenn Leonard: It is an honor. It is the Disneyland
for Zappa Freaks.

UniMuta: You’ve been at Zappanale before, right? With Project/Object in 2002, if my
memory serves me right. Any recollections?

Glenn Leonard: Although I was in Project/Object at that time, they
brought back their original drummers for that show. I performed with the
Grandmothers and with Bob and Thana Harris with Mike Keneally sitting in.
The Grandmothers had a tremendous line-up: Don Preston, Napoleon Murphy Brock,
Roy Estrada, Bunk Gardner, Bob Harris, Jimmy Carl Black (guest vocal), Miss
Pamela (guest dancer) and my friend from P/O André Cholmondeley.
After the grand finale, I was overwhelmed with emotion. Tears came pouring out.
I realized there was much love for Frank, how much I missed him, how hard I
worked all my life to get to that point as a musician. It was overwhelming, I
crumpled over and cried like a little girl the second I got off stage.

UniMuta:
You started Pojama People in 2006. How have things been going for Pojama
People? Do you get gigs on a regular basis?

Glenn
Leonard: Yes, we tour the west coast of the United States 2 or 3 times a year.
It's been going very well. Some very fun shows with Ike & I bouncing off
each other making every show unique. We have a strong repoire after being in
P/O together for 4 years. Also, I'm very fortunate to have found high-level
musicians to help me support Ike.

UniMuta:
Playing with Ike must be a blast. Is he a regular member? What’s the best thing
about having him on stage with you.

Glenn
Leonard: Yes, we are not much without Ike. He's the genuine article. I'd say
the best thing is actually two-fold: his genius for spontaneity (working in an
event or idea on the spot into the show) and channeling Frank's spirit in his
guitar solos. Ike rarely got to show his guitar solo skills in the FZ days.

UniMuta:
A couple of years ago, you (re-)joined Project/Object for their European tour.
Is playing in Europe much different from playing in the USA?

Glenn Leonard:
The biggest difference is that in spite of any language barrier the love & appreciation for the music is always evident. I can easily detect it in the
eyes, their expression, their body language. it's universal & I appreciate
that.

UniMuta: I’m glad that we’ll finally be having the opportunity to see Pojama
People on stage in Europe. Can you give a short introduction to the other
bandmembers?

Glenn
Leonard: Alli Bach (my wife) will be on percussion & vocals. She's a very
talented multi-instrumentalist from a wide range of musical backgrounds. She
will performing on the mystery stage doing a tap dance interpretation of FZ as
well as cabaret-style singing. Ted Clifford (keyboards) is a modern
composer of chamber works and has a strong jazz background. Kevin Crosby
(bass) plays a wide range of styles. He was in a well-renowned mash-up band
called The Squirrels. He went to Berklee & now teaches private lessons.

UniMuta: You’re headliner on Sunday. Banned From Utopia is headliner on
Saturday. How about that?

Glenn
Leonard: It is a supreme honor to be considered alongside such legends. Each
one of them are heroes of mine from many years ago as I was attending multiple Zappa
shows from 1976 through 1988. I am inspired.

UniMuta: Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions & see you on
stage at Zappanale on Sunday evening.

Yesterday, I was told that Chato Segerer would be playing
at the Zappanale Festival. I’ve known Chato for a couple of years and I’m
amazed about his musical ability and his good taste in music.
So let’s give this excellent news a bit of extra flavour with a short
interview.

UniMuta: Chato, Facebook says that you will be
performing at Zappanale this year. Can you give us some details about what,
where and when?

Chato Segerer: I will play on the Mystery Stage of
this year's Zappanale on Sunday, 4pm till 5pm. I will also play with
Jazzprojekt Hundehagen (same stage, same day). I don't know the exact time, but
they are the very last band of Zappanale #24.

In my solo show you will hear Zappa songs (sing-along
tracks & otherwise), at least one Beefheart number and 3 of my original
compositions (including a never-played-before track ‘cause it was written in
late April). I will entertain you with my guitar/keyboard skills, occasionally
with backing tracks I recorded/programmed myself.

My gig at Zappanale was confirmed last Friday, so my
name will be mentioned, but without any info/photos. Maybe they put the info on
their website, though.

UniMuta: You have performed solo at the Yellow Snow
Festival in Larvik in 2012, you played a solo set at the Moo-Ah Festival in the
UK a couple of months ago, and more recently you opened with your band MILPH
for Doctor Nerve. Is playing with a band the new direction that you want to
take?

Chato Segerer: I also played a solo set at the
Freakshow Artrock Festival in Würzburg in October and as opening act for the
Muffin Men in Manchester in August 2012...

Yeah, definitely. It was never my plan to do solo
shows BTW. The organisers of the Yellow Snow Festival approached me from out of
the blue and asked if I could play a show at their festival. I didn´t have a
band and I didn´t have a show (yet), so these guys really had much belief in my
talent/abilities and they weren't disappointed. My career really started there,
without them I would still be some guy who only plays guitar in his room, so
thank you Eric and Jan! As for a band, I always wanted to make my own band, but
I couldn´t find the right people who (1) like this kinda music (2) can play
this music and (3) WANT to play this music...until now! Unfortunately I have to
find new people soon cause I will be too far away from them (I will study
guitar rock/pop in Osnabrück in September).

Playing with backing tracks is (economically) fine,
but it´s nothing like "I can do this till I die, I´ll never need a
band". I like a band more (and the audience probably too).

UniMuta: The first time that we met, a couple of years
ago at Zappanale, I could immediately tell that you really like Panzerballet.
(note: Chato was wearing the Panzerballet cable rasta wig) Can you tell us a
bit more about that?

Chato Segerer: I heard of them when they were
announced for Zappanale #19, but I missed their performance. A year later I
checked them out and I liked it immediately. In the timespan of 4 weeks, I
bought all three albums (now they have 4) and saw them live twice. It's complex
as hell, it has groove, it has humour and I never thought Jazz and Metal could
fit so good together; it´s so refreshing! I auditioned as their 2nd guitar
player in March 2010 and they invited me to their rehearsal space. They thought
I was too young for the job (I was 19), but they were amazed that I could play
this complex music. They still recognize me, especially Jan Zehrfeld (who
announced me everytime I was in the audience).

Chato, You've been to Zappanale a
couple of times. Can you explain why Zappanale is so much fun, and could you
share your favourite moment with us?

Chato Segerer: For me Zappanale is more than hearing
live bands playing Zappa. It's a location to discover bands and to hear bands
you know but would never come to Germany if there wasn´t a Zappanale (e.g. Ed
Palermo Big Band). And over the years I’ve met so many great people from all
around the world...I'm glad that this festival exists!

Favourite moment? Top 3 (no order): 1. Meeting the
Zappateers (ZN 21) 2. Winning 1st prize of the Zappa quiz (ZN 21) 3. Being on
the truckstage jamming one night and playing with Jazzprojekt Hundehagen the
other night (ZN 22).

UniMuta: I saw a part of that jam with
Michael Käckenmeister (from Jazzprojekt Hundehagen). Count me in. I’ll be
there.

Chato Segerer will be playing at Zappanale Mystery
Stage on Sunday, August 4, 2013. He’ll play a solo set in the afternoon (16:00
h) and he’ll sit in with Jazzprojekt Hundehagen (the final Mystery Stage concert,
on Sunday evening).Here's Chato playing along with the Panzerballet CD, on The Brecker Brothers' 'Some Skunk Funk':

I know
you all just got an email from me promoting this Wednesdays Blues concert in
Mountainside, NJ, but 3 days after, we're back to playing mostly Zappa.

I've
written arrangements that intertwine Zappa with some old surf hits, like
"PIPELINE" and "TELSTAR". At some points, the melodies all
converge simultaneously. I've written these arrangements for this one concert
alone. This is an exclusive set of music for the FALCON, my favorite place to play!

PLACE: FALCON http://www.liveatthefalcon.com/ 845-236-7970

DATE: SATURDAY,
AUGUST 3

SHOWTIMES: 2
SETS-7:30+9:00

You're
all invited to wear anything summery, including swim trunks and bikinis. The
band definitely will!

Hope to
see you there. This is a once in a lifetime event!

ed

And there's more !!

You can
see and hear this Saturday's concert at the FALCON nightclub on the internet.
It's streaming LIVE via CONCERT WINDOW.

http://www.concertwindow.com/shows/ed-palermo

ONLY
$5.00 for the entire show. And unlike last time, it WILL start at 7:30, so you
will see and hear the ENTIRE show.

As fans
of my band know, we pack a lot of heat in our shows. We always play a ton of
tunes, Zappa and otherwise.

So
there you go. Have at it!

And as
always, THANK YOU for all of your support and kind words! I SO appreciate all
of it!

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Swiss jazz-rock quartet Überfall released three albums in the late 1980's. The music was characterised by medieval melodies that got performed in a modern, jazz-rock setting and that were used as a basis for improvisations.

Yolk is Beat Burkhard on bass, Willi Riechsteiner on guitars, Rémy Sträuli on drums, keyboards and vocals.
The trio released three records on the XOPF label between 1993 and 1997. This eponymous album got released on Markus Stauss' Fazzul Music label in 2004.
It's sort of an in memoriam, as the recordings are from 1999, shortly before the demise of the band.

I guess the music of Yolk could be categorised as expermintal, avant-garde rock music.
A fine discovery.

Swiss composer and saxophone player Markus Stauss released "Neolithicum" 10 years ago. Subtitled "Bass saxophon solo & extras", you know what to expect.

In 15 compositions, Markus Stauss investigated the possibilities of the bass saxophone. Besides the clean sound of the bass saxophone, he also used a delay and a sampler to add and modify the sound of his compositions and improvisations.

This release is not aimed at the faint hearted. This is music from the other side of the fence.
Experimental music !!
Check it out !

Over
the years Graham Jones (author of Last Shop Standing and with thirty years
experience in music sales) has collected a vast number of funny stories and
anecdotes. He relates the best of them in his hysterical new coffee table book
'Strange Requests and Comic Tales from Record Shops'. Many anecdotes come from
people who have been often pleased and sometimes bemused to find themselves
stationed behind the record shop counter.

The
book is illustrated by the acclaimed cartoonist Kipper Williams, whose work has
appeared in the Guardian and The Sunday Times.

Getting ready for next Zappanale also means tidying up stuff that has been lying on the shelves since the latest Zappanale.
It all resulted in scanning and adding some covers of Zappanale booklets to the United Mutations Archives.

the program booklet from 2006. Zappanale 17.

the program booklet from 2007. Zappanale 18.

Program booklets from Zappanale 19, 21 and 22 were already up. Can't seem to locate number 20...

Here's the booklet from Zappanale 23 (2012):

And here's the covers of the exhibition booklets from the last couple of years:

Next to their "King Of Prussia" box, Way Of Wizard Records also released "Europe 1980".
It's another fabulous box set, including 4 LP's, 4 CD's and a 16-page LP-sized booklet.
The four LP's, each with their own cover, include red vinyl albums.

Spanning the 4 LP's are two excellent 1980 concerts: 1980/05/24 Rotterdam and 1980/06/21 Geneva.
The CD's carry the same material.

MF Doom
(MC) and Madlib (beats) are Madvillain. Their 2004 album
"Madvillainy" included a Zappa sample. Track 3, 'Meat Grinder',
starts with a repeated 'Sleeping In A Jar' sample.

I
learned earlier today that 2004 also saw the release of "Madvillainy
Instrumentals", a 2LP instrumental version of the album. It got released
in a generic sleeve on the same label (Stones Throw Records).

This
instrumental album got rereleased in 2011. This time with artwork / an album
cover.

Both of these albums include the Zappa sample.Here's the data, including album covers:

Adding interesting data to the United Mutations Archives, here's another SC3 album.

Secret Chiefs 3's "Path Of Most Resistance" is a sampler, picking out tracks from "Books Of Horizons", "Book M", "Second Grand Constitution" and "Eyes Of Flesh".
It also features three bonus tracks. 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus', previously released on a Japanese promotional sampler, and 'Good Vibrations' plus 'Heroes And Villains', both previously released on a Japanese Beach Boys tribute album.

Wouldn't call it a 'best of' as that wouldn't do justice to SC3's output, but it's a fine sampler and a perfect introduction for those who aren't familiar with SC3.

"King Of Prussia" is a firm cardboard box with a 3D-cover. The box contains 4 LP's, 2 CD's and an LP-sized 16-page booklet with articles.Each LP has it's own full colour cover and is pressed on yellow vinyl.I thought I had detoxed from bootlegs, but this box just looked too good.

Altrock Productions promotes experimental music. From free jazz over prog rock to classical contemporary music, and everything in-between.Besides the Altrock Festival, which is held in June every year, there's also the Altrock record label. Humble Grumble's "Flanders Fields" and more recently "Guzzle It Up" both got released on Altrock.

The first release on Altrock was Yugen's "Labirinto d'Acqua" (2006). Driving force behind Yugen, was Altrock co-founder Francesco Zago.In 2008, Francesco started Kurai, a project / ensemble that served as a counterweight to the adventurous and complex music of Yugen. The result got released on an album in 2009.
The list of musicians does include a couple of familiar names: Enrica Di Bastiano, Maurizio Fasoli, Giuseppe Olivini, Peter Schmid, Markus Stauss, Christian Weber and Francesco Zago, which leads to a chamber music setting: harp, piano, harpsichord, clarinet, saxophone, double bass and electric guitar.

Kurai, japanese for 'dark', does indeed present dark and floating soundscapes. The music does not sound unusual or does not make you feel uneasy. It is, however, touching and intriguing. And dark. Very dark.

Jean Chaine formed Ulterior Lux in the eighties in Miami. In 1990, Markus Stauss joined the band and they recorded their first album, "The Dancing Man".
"Evergreen" got released in 1996, and the impressive (and final Ulterior Lux album) "Adventures" in 1997.

Funk fusion and modern jazz fans should most definitely check this out.
Markus Stauss on saxes, Jean Chain on electric bass and Rémy Sträuli on drums.

from the band's facebook page:ROISTER is an ever evolving band. The core group
includes markus messina, ray white, and jesse clayton. the goal of this group
is to bring an epic evening of fun, dancing, and music to people around the
globe.

from
Tom Fowler:

Having a great time playing with the band Roister featuring Ray White,
Melvin Seals, and Thomas McCree. These cats are serious. It's a real thrill!
They are all amazing players.Here's a superb song from a recent concert, where Ray mentions Jerry Garcia and Frank Zappa...

Folks,
as some of you may know, my band is in the process of finishing up the
recording of this long-awaited project.

I've
been a devout fan of Chicago blues since I first heard it in the '60s. For the
past decade, my band, along with the incredible vocal and harmonica talents of
Rob Paparozzi, have been playing concerts of this wonderful music to
enthusiastic audiences all over the tri-state area.

On
Wednesday, July 31, we return to Echo Lake Park in Mountainside, NJ for a FREE
outdoor concert.

We've
performed at this event for many years. The park is absolutely beautiful.

For
details and directions, please visit this site: http://www.ucnj.org/park%20events%202012/

THE ED
PALERMO BIG BAND PLAYS THE MUSIC OF PAUL BUTTERFIELD AND MIKE BLOOMFIELD

Special exhibition of previously unseen cover art and LP covers and ephemera from the esoteric, spiritual jazz great Sun Ra and the Arkestra, shown alongside photographs of the band. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

"Hurqalya", the second album by Secret Chiefs 3, got released in 1998. The concept stayed the same, but the focus is put on eastern melodies and instumentation.
Great stuff.
The 2000 re-release on the Mimicry label is a remastered edition and has one bonus track.

Here's another one of these legendary concerts: Zappa and The Mothers live in Basel, Switzerland, October 1, 1974.Released on the Scorpio label, this factory pressed 3CD bootleg includes both the early and the late show.
These concerts have been bootlegged numerous times.Nice package, nice artwork, but still superfluous.
Fans of (audience) concert recordings should check out Zappateers.

Old news for some, as this 2CD factory pressed bootleg album got released a bit over a year ago.
The package presents a famous Zappa / Beefheart / Mothers concert. In fact, this was the first Zappa concert that I received on tape years (and years) ago.

Rather sloppy artwork, and if you want to hear the best available version of this concert, you should check out the zappateers website.
Cover and data have been added to the United Mutations Archives.

Fans of adventurous and experimental music should definitely check out Secret Chiefs 3.
Mastermind Trey Spruance's earlier projects include Mr.Bungle and Faith No More, but with Secret Chiefs 3, he takes it another step further.
Fragments of every imaginable musical genre are puzzled and pasted together into a breathtaking, almost completely instrumental mixture.

"First Grand Constitution And Bylaws" was the band's first album. It got released in 1996 and got a re-mastered edition (with a couple of bonus tracks) in 2000 on the World Of Mimicry label.